BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: “ THE FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA : Social, Demographic and Psychological Aspects”, Jerzy Krupinski and Alan Stoller (Eds.); “ PSYCHOSOMATIC FAMILIES — ANOREXIA NERVOSA IN CONTEXT ” by Salvador Minuchin, Bernice L. Rosman, Lester Baker. “ PARADOX AND COUNTERPARADOX : A New Model in the Therapy of the Family in Schizophrenic Transaction” by Mara Selvini Palazzoli, Gianfranco Cecchin, Giuiana Prata, Luigi Boscolo and Jason Aronson “ THE FAMILY CRUCIBLE ” The Intense Experience of Family Therapy by Augustus Napier and Carl Whitaker.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: THE FAMILY IN CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY. Sidney Bloch, Julian Hafner, Edwin Harari, and George Szmukler. INTERNAL CONSULTANCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR. Case studies. Edited by C. Huffington and H. Brunning. TALES AND TRANSFORMATIONS. Stories in Families and Family Therapy. Janine Roberts. ISBN 0 393701743.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: BEYOND THE DOUBLE BIND : Communication and Family Systems, Theories, and Techniques with Schizophrenics. Milton. M. Berger (Ed). THE LANGUAGE OF CHANGE: ELEMENTS OF THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION Paul Watzlawick ADULTS AND THEIR PARENTS IN FAMILY THERAPY: A NEW DIRECTION IN TREATMENT Lee Headley FAMILY AND MARITAL PSYCHOTHERAPY — A CRITICAL APPROACH Edited by Sue Walrond Skinner     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: MAKING SENSE OF THE CHILDREN ACT 1989 Nick Allen. TRAINING TOGETHER: A TRAINING AND CURRICULUM MODEL FOR THE CHILDREN ACT 1989 The Family and Child Care Law Training Group. ACTING ON BEHALF OF CHILDREN: PART 1, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CHILDREN ACT 1989 John Paley. WORKING WITH THE CHILDREN ACT 1989 Helen Armstrong, Peter Elfer, Ruth Gardner, David Hodgson, Anne Hollows and Peter Smith. BLACKSTONE'S GUIDE TO THE CHILDREN ACT 1989 Jane Bridge, Stuart Bridge and Susan Luke.     

International News

3rd International Congress of Family Therapy Tel Aviv, Israel
FAMILY THERAPY IN THE COMMUNITY LA TERAPIA FAMILIARE NELLA COMMUNITA
Second International Conference in Florence, June 21–24, 1978     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: INVITATIONS TO RESPONSIBILITY : The therapeutic engagement of men who are violent and abusive. Alan Jenkins. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND FAMILY THERAPY : A discussion of the work of The Family Centre, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Charles Waldegrave (with commentaries by Carmel Tapping). CLINICAL PRACTICE IN ADOPTION . Robin C. Winkler, Dirck W. Brown, Margaret van Kepple and Amy Blanchard. AFFECTIVE DISORDERS AND THE FAMILY: ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT . John F. Clarkin, Gretchen L. Haas and Ira D. Glick (Eds.). THE CHILDREN IN OUR TIMES: STUDIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESILIENCY . Timothy F. Dugan and Robert Coles (Eds.). TIME-LIMITED INTERMITTENT THERAPY WITH CHILDREN AND FAMILIES . Thomas Kreilkamp.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: SOURCEBOOK OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY EVALUATION . Luciano L'Abate & Dennis Bagarozzi COUPLE THERAPY: A HANDBOOK . Edited by Douglas Hooper & Windy Dryden. BETWEEN THERAPIST AND CLIENT: THE NEW RELATIONSHIP . Michael Kahn. FINISHING WELL: Aging and Reparation in the Intergenerational Family . Terry D. Hargrave and William T. Anderson. ALCOHOLISM AND THE FAMILY . Edited by Satoru Saitoh, Peter Steinglass & Marc A. Schuckit. COPING WITH INFANT OR FETAL LOSS: The Couple's Healing Process . Kathleen R. Gilbert and Laura S. Smart. THE FILTHY LIE: Discovering and Recovering from Child Sexual Abuse . Hellmut Karle. FACE VALUE: The Kay Nesbit Story . Bill Birnbauer.     

Book Reviews/Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article:
JEAN L. BRIGGS, Never in Anger: Portrait of an Eskimo Family
JAMES LORIMER and MYFANWY PHILLIPS, Working People: Life in a Downtown City Neighbourhood
ANTON C. ZUDERVELD, The Abstract Society
THE VANIER INSTITUTE OF THE FAMILY: FREDERICK ELKIN, Report of Family Life Education Survey
DORIS E. GUYATT, One-Parent Family in Canada . Pp. 141. A Kaleidoscope Report of a National Consultation on Family Life Education
DAVID G. FUDGE, Remarriage of Divorced Persons: Research Findings and Possibility of a Canadian Study
Family Research in Canada: Notes from Stanley House Conference 1970
ROSLYN BURSHTYN, Daycare: Establishing Community Services
ROSLYN BURSHTYN, Daycare: A Resource for the Contemporary Family
Milieu 70: Report of the National Conference Held in Winnipeg, 1970
Vanier Institute Transition     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: RESILIENCE. STORIES OF A FAMILY THERAPIST .: Moshe and Tesse Lang. HOLDING ON TO HUMANITY — THE MESSAGE OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: The Shamai Davidson Papers . Edited by Israel W. Charny. CHILD SURVIVORS. Adults Living with Childhood Trauma . Paul Valent. IMAGES OF AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES: Approaches and Perceptions . Edited by Kathleen Funder HEALTHY FAMILIES, HEALTHY NATION: Strategies for Promoting Family Mental Health in Australia . Edited by Matthew R. Sanders SHAKING OUT THE SPIRITS: A Psychotherapist's Entry into the Healing Mysteries of Global Shamanism . Bradford Keeney.     

Book Review

Book reviewed in this article: WOMEN IN FAMILIES . A Framework for Family Therapy. McGoldrick, M., Anderson, C.M. & Walsh, F. (Eds.). SEX, LOVE AND VIOLENCE . Cloe Madanes. TAPROOTS . William Hudson O'Hanlon. New York THE BLAMMO-SURPRISE BOOK . Stephen R. Lankton SAMMY THE ELEPHANT AND MR. CAMEL . Joyce C. Mills, PhD and Richard J. Crowley, PhD TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT . Joy Hayward and David Carlyle. DEAD BIRDS SINGING . Marc Talbert. A GIRL LIKE ABBY . Hadley Irwin. YOU TAKE THE HIGH ROAD . Mary K. Pershall. LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND CHANGE — Frameworks of Meaning in Psychotherapy . Jay S. Efran, Michael D. Lukens and Robert J. Lukens. A SYSTEMIC HARPOON INTO FAMILY GAMES . Giuliana Prata. CARDBOARD . Fiona Place.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: FAMILY INTERACTION AND FAMILY THERAPY IN CHILDHOOD PSYCHOSOMATIC DISEASE. Per A. Gustafsson. STORIES FOR THE THIRD EAR: Using Hypnotic Fables in Psychotherapy. Lee Wallas. HUMAN RELATIONSHIP SKILLS: Training and self-help. Richard Nelson-Jones. PSYCHOTHERAPY TRADECRAFT: The technique and style of doing therapy. Theodore H. Blau THE COMPLEX SECRET OF BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPY. James Paul Gustafson. THE FREUDIAN METAPHOR: Toward Paradigm Change in Psychoanalysis. Donald P. Spence. WOMEN IN FAMILIES: A Framework for Family Therapy. Monica McGoldrick, Carol M. Anderson & Froma Walsh. FAMILY EVALUATION. Michael E. Kerr & Murray Bowen. SECOND MARRIAGE: Make it Happy! Make it Last.! Richard B. Stuart & Barbara Jacobson. FAMILY INTERVENTION THROUGHOUT CHRONIC ILLNESS AND DISABILITY. Paul W. Power, Arthur E. Dell Orto & Martha Blechar Gibbons (Eds.).     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: TREATING OF COUPLES: THE INTERSYSTEM MODEL OF THE MARRIAGE COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA . Gerald R. Weeks (ed.). PLANNING HAPPY FAMILIES . (Kit and book). Constance Jenkins. BETWEEN GIVE AND TAKE: A CLINICAL GUIDE TO CONTEXTUAL THERAPY . Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy and Barbara R. Krasner. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON TRIAL , Psychological and Legal Dimensions of Family Violence. Edited by Daniel J. Sonkin. THE LAST TABOO: SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN . Gay Search. SIBLINGS IN THERAPY : Life Span and Clinical Issues. Edited by Michael D. Kahn and Karen Gail Lewis. TURNING POINTS: TREATING FAMILIES IN TRANSITION AND CRISIS . Frank S. Pittman III MODERN CLINICAL HYPNOSIS FOR HABIT CONTROL . Charles M. Citrenbaum, Mark E. King & William I. Cohen OVERCOMING NECK AND BACK PAIN . Peter Watson. HUMANISING THE NARCISSISTIC STYLE . Stephen M. Johson. IN SEARCH OF SOLUTIONS: A New Direction In Psychotherapy . William Hudson O'Hanlon & Michele Weiner-Davis. PASSIONS WITHIN REASON: The Strategic Role of the Emotions . Robert H. Frank. SELF PSYCHOLOGY IN CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK . Miriam Elson. LAW FOR THE PSYCHOTHERAPIST . Robert G. Meyer, E. Rhett Landis & J. Ray Hays.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Teaching Systemic Thinking . David Campbell, Ros Draper, and Clare Huffington. Second Thoughts on the Theory and Practice of the Milan Approach to Family Therapy . David Campbell, Ros Draper and Clare Huffington. Co-Constructing Therapeutic Conversations . Ivan B. Inger and Jeri Inger A Systemic Approach to Consultation . David Campbell, Ros Draper and Clare Huffington Handing Over: Developing Consistency Across Shifts in Residential and Health Settings . Barry Mason The Internal Consultant in the Hospital Setting . Robert Bar and Riva Miller PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AND THE ADULT SURVIVOR . I. L. McCann and L.A. Pearlman THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY . A. Rothenberg HAPPINESS IT'S UP TO YOU . Sabine Beecher. Melbourne, Collins Dove PRIVATE LIES — Infidelity and the Betrayal of Intimacy . Frank Pittman     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: PICKING UP THE PIECES . K. Vivekananda and S. Nicholson, Allen & Unwin FOUNDATIONS OF CONTEXTUAL THERAPY . Collected papers of Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy. M.D. Brunner-Mazel BALANCE OF MOTION: Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy and His Vision of Individual and Family Therapy . Ammy Van Heudsen and Elsemarie Van Den Eerenbeemt STOP STRUGGLING WITH YOUR TEENAGER . Evonne Weinhaus and Karen Friedman BEHAVIOUR DISORDERS OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS . Marilyn T. Erickson. SEXUAL ABUSE OF YOUNG CHILDREN . Kee MacFarlane, Jill Waterman with Shawn Conerly, Linda Damon, Michael Durfee, Suzanne Long. DEPRESSION IN THE FAMILY . Edited by Arthur Freeman, Norman Epstein, Karen Simon. ADOLESCENT ART THERAPY . Debra G. Linesch. MEASURING EMOTIONS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN, Volume 2 . Edited by C. E. Izard and P. B. Read     

‘Family ideology’: identification and exploration

The issue of ‘family ideology’ has been systematically ignored by a majority of ‘family¹ scholars whilst it has been taken for granted by a minority. The following study arises from the author's attempts to explore the issue of alternative theoretical approaches to the analysis of family life’.² Increasing numbers of contemporary researchers concur in recognising the diversity of ‘family forms’ and the inappropriateness of speaking of ‘The Family’.³ Despite these recognitions many researchers find themselves re-adopting the term ‘The Family’ in their discussions and especially in the titles of their work. For example. Segal clearly recognises that the ‘traditional family model’ no longer reflects the reality of our lives (1983, 11) and yet the title of her book is What is to he done about THE FAMILY? (emphasis added). One reason for the re-importation of the idea of ‘The Family’ may be found in the rather limited nature of previous conceptualisations of ‘family ideology’. With the exception of Barrett (1980), recognitions of ‘family ideology’ tend to be conceptualised in terms of sets of partisan beliefs supporting a particular ‘family form’. Thus the concept of ‘The Family’ is rarely regarded as being problematic in itself, rather attention is paid to the presumed virtues or deficiencies of the particular form of ‘The Family’ which is assumed to be prevalent. Notwithstanding the recognition of ‘family diversity’ or the inappropriateness of the term ‘The Family’, nearly all discussion becomes a straightforward attack upon, or defence of. ‘The Family’.⁴ Only very rarely does analysis avoid this trap and question whether ‘The Family’ really exists to be attacked or defended; thus Collier et al. have asked ‘Is there a Family?’ (1982) and the present author has asked ‘Do we really know what “The Family” is?’(Bernardes, 1948a). The objective here is to identify and explore a specific conceptualisation of ‘family ideology’. The aim is to avoid engaging in attacks upon, or defences of, ‘The Family’ but rather to address the ideological context of such debates themselves, especially in respect of the assumed existence of ‘The Family’. It is hoped that this approach will stimulate a much more critical examination of ‘family ideology’ and the concept of ‘The Family’. More generally, the attempt to conceptualise ‘family ideology’ in this much broader sense is seen as a pre-requisite for the development of an alternative theoretical approach to the analysis of ‘family life’.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: ERICKSONIAN APPROACHES TO HYPNOSIS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY . (1982) Ed. J.K. Zeig FAMILY THERAPY AND FAMILY MEDICINE: TOWARDS THE PRIMARY CARE OF FAMILIES . (1983) Wiliam J. Doherty and Macaran A. Baird THE ROCKING OF THE CRADLE AND THE RULING OF THE WORLD . Dorothy Dinnerstein     

BOOK REVIEWS

Abstract

IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY: RETHINKING FAMILY VALUES IN THE POSTMODERN AGE. Judith Stacey. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996, 194 pp., ISBN 0-8070-0432-4, $22.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Valerie S. Mannis.

CONFESSIONS OF A LOST MOTHER. Elisa M. Barton. Baltimore, MD: Gateway, 1996, 157 pp., ISBN 0-9650795-0-3, $14.95 paper. Reviewed by Karen Schmid.

THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD: THE LEAST DETRIMENTAL ALTERNATIVE. Joseph Goldstein, Albert J. Solnit, Sonja Goldstein, and the late Anna Freud. New York: The Free Press, 1996, 311 pp., ISBN 0-684-82337-3, $35.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Renee Garfinkel.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: ETHICAL ISSUES IN FAMILY THERAPY . Sue Walrond-Skinner and David Watson (eds.) THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN . Judith Ennew. THE CHILD MOLESTER: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO EVALUATION AND TREATMENT . George W. Barnard, A. Kenneth Fuller, Lynn Robbins TREATMENT OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS WITH ERICKSONIAN APPROACHES . Stephen R. Lankton and Jeffery K. Zeig. SYSTEMS OF FAMILY THERAPY : An Adlerian Integration. Robert Sherman and Don Dinkmeyer. COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY WITH FAMILIES . Norman Epstein, Stephen E. Schlesinger and Wendy Dryden. PARENTAL GRIEF: SOLACE AND RESOLUTION . Dennis Klass. SOFTLY MY GRIEF . Ann McDonald. TREATMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS: REVISED FOR THE DSM-III-R . William H. Reid. CLINICAL HANDBOOK OF MARITAL THERAPY . Neil S. Jacobsen & Alan S. Gurman. DANCING WITH THE FAMILY : A Symbolic-Experiential Approach. Carl A. Whitaker and William M. Bumberry. THE HALFWAY HOUSE: ON THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE . Sylvia L. Golomb & Andrea Kocsis     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: LITERATE MEANS TO THERAPEUTIC ENDS. Michael White and David Epston THE MYTH OF ATLAS: FAMILIES AND THE THERAPEUTIC STORY. Maurizio Andolfi, Claudio Angelo and Marcella de Nichilo MARRIAGE COUNSELLING IN AUSTRALIA — An Evaluation. Ilene Wolcott and Helen Glezer COMMUNITY CHILD HEALTH: AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE. Graham Vimpani and Trevor Parry (eds.) FAMILY RECONSTRUCTION: LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO THE LIGHT. William F. Nerin WHY DID I MARRY YOU? Warwick Hartin PERSONAL, MARITAL, AND FAMILY MYTHS: THEORETICAL FORMULATIONS AND CLINICAL STRATEGIES. Dennis A. Bagarozzi and Stephen A. Anderson SEXUAL ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE (1989). Bruce Rollins THE SOCIAL COSTS OF INADEQUATE LITERACY: A REPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL LITERACY YEAR. Robyn Hartley     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: CHILDREN AND FAMILY PROBLEMS: BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN . Compiled by Nadia Wheatley CHILDREN AND FAMILY PROBLEMS: BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE . Compiled by Nadia Wheatley OTTO LEARNS ABOUT HIS MEDICINE: A STORY ABOUT MEDICATION FOR HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN . Matthew Galvin ROBBIE REALLY TRANSFORMS: A STORY ABOUT GROWN-UPS HELPING CHILDREN . Matthew Galvin IGNATIUS FINDS HELP: A STORY ABOUT PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR CHILDREN . Matthew Galvin THIS IS ME AND MY TWO FAMILIES: A SELF AWARENESS SCRAPBOOK/JOURNAL FOR CHILDREN LIVING WITH TWO FAMILIES . Marla D. Evans DON'T FEEL THE WORLD IS CAVING IN . Rosemary Dunlop and Ailsa Burns WHEN LIVING HURTS — DIRECTIVES FOR TREATING DEPRESSION . Michael Yapko FAMILY RESOURCES: THE HIDDEN PARTNER IN FAMILY THERAPY . Karpel, M.A. (Ed.) SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS . Edited by Gerald L. Klerman MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY . Callan, V.J. and Noller, P. THE “SISSY BOY SYNDROME” AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOMOSEXUALITY . Richard Green THE SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY . Benjamin Wolman